Matt Barkley

SANTA CLARA This is what stood out to me during practice Monday morning. THE AMAZING 1. 54-year-old Hall-of-Fame WR Jerry Rice. The 49ers invited Jerry Rice and Steve Young to speak to the players before practice. After they spoke, Young watched practice from the sideline for 15 minutes then left, while Rice joined the players on the field and practiced like he was a member of the team. Rice wore…

1 SANTA CLARA Here’s what stood out to me during practice Friday morning. THE GOOD 1. RB Joe Williams. Yesterday, Williams gained 32 yards on four carries. Today, he gained 58 yards on six carries and had his two best runs of the offseason. Both runs came when the quarterback was under center and Williams was in an I-formation. The first run was an inside-zone play. In one fluid motion,…

SANTA CLARA Here’s what stood out to me during practice Monday morning. THE GOOD 1. DE Aaron Lynch. Lynch has lost more than 20 pounds since the beginning of OTAs when he says he weighed between 295 lbs. and 300 lbs. According to Lynch, he currently weighs 273 lbs. Good for him. I thought he would gain weight during the five weeks between minicamp and training camp when he didn’t…

1 SANTA CLARA Here’s what stood out to me during practice Saturday morning. THE GOOD 1. QB Brian Hoyer. As far as what Hoyer could control, he was perfect. Of his six incompletions, one was a drop by Pierre Garcon, two were throw-aways and three were pass breakups by cornerbacks. Hoyer threw zero bad passes. Overall, he completed 13 of 19 (68 percent), and he wasn’t just dinking and dunking….

It is reported the Seahawks have traded Matt Flynn to the Raiders. It is reported the Raiders have traded Carson Palmer to the Cardinals. And it is reported the Bills have signed Kevin Kolb. How will these transactions affect the quarterbacks in the draft? Predict which team will draft each of the top quarterbacks – Geno Smith, Matt Barkley, Mike Glennon, Ryan Nassib, Tyler Wilson, Tyler Bray, E.J. Manuel and…

NFL Network analyst Charles Davis has been breaking down the draft’s quarterback prospects on KNBR and various internet radio shows recently. Here are his breakdowns of E.J. Manuel, Tyler Bray, Tyler Wilson, Geno Smith and Matt Barkley. Q: What do you think of E.J. Manuel and Tyler Bray? DAVIS: For Manuel, I think the accuracy is problematic. You want your receiver to stay on his feet, meaning put it on…

Greg Cosell recently broke down the draft’s quarterback prospects on Yahoo’s Shutdown Corner podcast. Here’s his breakdown. Q: What do you think of Geno Smith? COSELL: There is no question he has an NFL arm. He’s an NFL talent. Now, he’s got some other issues. First of all, he’s got some footwork issues. I think that can be corrected. He plays almost exclusively from the shotgun. He’s a bit of…

Who do you think is the best quarterback prospect in the draft? I am not fond of the consensus No.1 QB prospect, Geno Smith. He had a hot start to the 2012 season, defenses adjusted to him and then his performance went south. He’s being overrated because he can run a 4.5 40-yard dash and has experience playing in the Pistol formation. I believe the best QB prospect in the…

Inside the 49ers: Grant Cohn

I cover the San Francisco 49ers year-round for The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa. Argue with me, agree with me, or just read the posts and follow the conversation. I've been a contributor to several other regional and national sports websites, and I also write two online columns a week for pressdemocrat.com, which are posted on this site as well.